Hey Matthew, thanks for your comments. On your question; well, the "static" stances will allow not only observation of tensions, but also facilitate their release. We could call that aspect static/standing/passive/yin. The idea is you want to stand there and ideally do nothing. But as we stand on our toes, we can discover that not only are we not doing nothing, there is, in fact, a lot going on. A lot of movement, jerking, pulling, tugging, holding, twitching. There's a veritable clusterfuck going on - and we're just trying to stand there.

The standing on the toes we start to discover where the gunk is in the gutter. And by not only observing that, but by practicing it, we release the gunk from the gutters.

Moving on the toes is the complementary aspect; moving/active/stepping/entering/yang. The moving shows us - mostly importantly - not where we're stuck, where the gunk is - but how much freer we are. And how we're actively putting energy through the move opened channels. And it can also show us where our movements are inefficient.

So, in the standing aspect, we notice more gunk. In moving aspect, we notice the freer energy. And then, just as there's yin in yang and yang in yin - active in passive and passive in active - we'll start to notice the freer energy in the standing positions, and the gunk in the moving.

I really consider this to work on a few levels. The first is just like a house that hasn't had the gutters cleaned in years. So, we can find some different stuff in there, some of it even pretty big - like tennis balls and big sticks. Just like our bodies. But the good thing is that is that stuff not only easy to see, it's easy to remove. And, man, do the drains feel better and move more smoothly afterwards. We'll call that the BIG CLEAN.

And then the other part I'd just call regular maintenance. A few minutes of standing and a few minutes of walking around on the toes - a few times a week - is enough to keep the gutters clean and clear. And it's enough to keep your body and the energy more aligned, integrated, refreshed, and renewed.

And that can translate into every area of our lives. Martial arts studies, walking, sitting, standing, lifting, sex, nutrition, health, safety, concentration, work ... And not only are the results quick and powerful in the immediate, the implications on down the road as we age are self-evident.